Time To Update Your Home's Exterior?
by Art Gib
I am fortunate enough to live in a great
neighborhood. Though I live in a modest townhouse in a charming
little complex, it is nestled among several blocks full of lavish
homes.
But for that reason, it makes us all
flinch when we are taking a leisurely drive and see a home that is
large and was probably once very stylish and mod but is now outdated
and awkward.
Take a stroll into your yard. Eyeball
your house and those around it. Is your home one of those eyesores?
Don't despair if it is. Updating your residential dinosaur may not
be as difficult as you think. Just consider some of these tips and
then do some research for your own home.
Sometimes the simplest thing you can do
to make your home look a little more contemporary is change the
exterior color. I would choose a nice neutral color--a beige or
off-white, light grey, or something along those lines.
You can choose a more vibrant color for
the trim, especially because you can repaint this easier than the
entire house. If you have a Home Owners Association, you will want
to find out if there are certain colors you should or should not
use.
Clear away any dead foliage. A lot of
local homes have ivy crawling up their face, which gives them a
classy aged (not outdated) look, but when the ivy is brown and
decaying, it makes it seem more like the home was abandoned.
Check out your landscaping as well.
Remove dead shrubbery, prune trees, and pull up the weeds. This is
tough work, so if you don't have time or ability to do so, call a
landscaping company to help you.
Reevaluate the "accessories" that bedeck
the front of your home. Repaint or entirely replace your front door.
Add shutters to the front-facing windows. Consider adding a border
fence to your front yard. Think about placing a walkway up to your
front steps. Look at your porch light and install a new one if yours
is appearing dated.
These are just a few ideas, of course.
You might also want to add more lighting around the walkway or use
it to highlight the finer features of your home's exterior.
Once you make the changes that help to
make your home look more contemporary, you need to maintain the
exterior. Repaint regularly, weed the garden, and water the lawn. Be
sure to contact a professional if your house is in need of more
extensive renovations.
IdeaNames Company
